Masteries

Offense: 21

Defense: 9

Utility: 0

Introduction

***Hey everyone, I put my Orianna Guide up quite some time ago and just didn't like how cluttered it turned out. So, I first archived it for a bit and cleaned it up. It looks way better now than it use to (I also took out some old stuff and put in some new stuff). Then I had to take a break from gaming, archived it again, and I've come back to a pretty different game. I've reworked everything I needed to, added/removed what I needed to, and made this guide Ranked-worthy again. As usual, hope you enjoy. Don't be afraid to contact me via Private Message or in the comments.

So, to start off, Orianna is without a doubt one of the best solo mids in the game. At one point she was pretty much perma-banned on almost all high ELO games and some lower ones as well. With the proper use of her Ball she can totally dominate lanes. When I first wrote this guide, Orianna was a completely new champion and most Ranked players didn't want you to go Solo mid with her at all. The truth of the matter is, those people probably feel kinda stupid now, because Orianna has proven to be super sick beast mode. The Utility that she offers along with rediculously high AoE burst damage puts her up there with the big dogs like Brand, Annie, Lux, Ahri, Swain, etc.

Ever since my Elise guide, I have started implementing a stat sheet at the beginning of my guides that I make from the Champion Builder on the Leaguecraft.com website. This gives a good idea on what the end game product is going to be capable of and a very interesting statistic that I haven't seen on any other site, called "Effective Hit Points." Hope it helps, especially while the Mobafire stat system is down.

UPDATE (7/16/2011):

So I've been doing my homework, watching pro streams, looking up pro match histories, and of course reading people's feedback on various Orianna builds.
-I've added some additional images (Normal and Ranked games this time) of some high Orianna scores featuring the AP/Support Carry build that I've featured here on the site
-I've added some additional item choices
-I've pushed Clairvoyance up a notch on the Summoner Spell list
-Fixed some typo's here and there :D

UPDATE (7/30/2011):

The big change that I did for this update has been the title change. It is now Orianna: Sua1ty's AP Carry Build specifically. As I have spent more time playing Orianna trying countless new builds, it seems that the way I have featured her in this guide is specifically as an AP Carry. Of course she can still support, but my main Item build that I feature in this build is to carry your team and do some huge AoE damage.
-I've added a few additional sentences here and there
-I've added an additional chapter that will feature Orianna vs X Champ
-I've added some additional Ranked game scores
-I've adjusted the intro a bit
-Just to clear up any small confusion, I made this build before the minor nerf to Rabadon's, so the numbers, specifically in the Item's Chapter, are going to be off by a small amount. However, if you add in Elixir of Brilliance/Baron Buff, its practically the same thing if not a little better.

UPDATE (08/02/2011):

So I changed the name again haha, did a few corrections here and there as well.
-I've removed Comment required to Vote option, trolls are going to troll.

UPDATE (08/20/2011):

Archived for maintenance/clean up.

UPDATE (09/03/2011):

Unarchived and cleaned up big time.

UPDATE (11/21/2011-11/22/2011):

Really cool new stuff has come out and some minor changes to Orianna since my last update, so heres the list of things I've worked on:
-fixed up the Runes chapter
-fixed up the Masteries chapter
-added some little stuff here and there
-updated the Items chapter
Hopefully I will have time to update my match results soon, until then, enjoy!

Added some information to the Items Chapter and did some little aesthetic things here and there.

UPDATE (05/20/2013):

Just had a small item selection change to the Preference/Situational items; Athene's went in for Seraph's Embrace. The sub items accomplish much more and are sufficient by themselves. Tear of the Goddess is great at what it does, but Chalice of Harmony serves the same purpose while slightly out performing it in terms of not needing to charge and offering Magic Resist for additional survivability.

Masteries

I use to go the typical 9/0/21 AP caster Mastery Build, with slight deviation. Before the Mastery changes, Utility just had so much more to offer an AP Carry. Literally the only actual points you needed in Offense to maximize damage was 9. Now the Mastery trees have been completely reworked! Here is the new build that I have come up with:

Offense: 21

My Offensive Masteries are pertty standard for an AP Carry. I throw one point into Summoner's Wrath for the extra damage while Ignite is on Cooldown and three into Sorcery for the extra CDR. With the full build, Sorcery puts you at 31% CDR, which leaves just enough room for Blue Buff to take over for the last ~10%. Cooldown Reduction is pretty important on Orianna, so be sure to get at about 30% no matter how you build her. Next I just go down the line AP caster; Blast , Arcane Knowledge , Havoc , Mental Force , Archmage , and Executioner .

++

The only thing that I wanted to go into detail on was Spellsword because of the synergy that it has with Orianna and the entire build as a whole. The way that I explained it in my Elise guide is that every 100 Ability Power you are gong to be dealing an extra 5 damage. So in our case, late game it will give +30 damage. You take that and add it to your Auto-attack Passive Clockwork Windup and the Unique Passive: Spellblade on Lich Bane and you are looking at an auto-attack that might as well have been an AP Nidalee's maxed out Javelin Toss. Just thought I would bring that up here and hope you guys rush a Lich Bane some game soon on Orianna trying this build and tell us how fast you kill people and turrets alike. ;]

Defense: 9

So Defense has become an amazing tree to go down after you get your much needed Offensive power. Durability and Veteran's Scars are the main picks for me here. Hardiness and Resistance are nice to mix and match points into to make it to Veteran's Scars, but if you don't care for one or the other, you may want to go down the Utility tree for some movement speed, mana, or whatever else you think will help you out from that path. I'm not sure if everyone goes Defense or not on their mids, but I find these 9 points vital to early game dominance. Of course you can outplay someone if you are that much better than your opponent and just go 9 points elsewhere, but I wouldn't always bank on being leagues ahead of your opponent.

Utility: 0

Some people are still going down Utility to hit stuff like Runic Affinity , but as I briefly mentioned in the Defense section of this chapter, I think the Defense is outstanding for AP Carries. Extra health, armor, and magic resist vs extra mana, mana regen, and out of combat movement speed isn't really that tough of a call in my book lol. However, a lot of people are seeing some really good results with 21/0/9. So, if you are still sold on Utility, don't be afraid to use it.

Runes

My Runes are probably as text book AP Carry as it gets, but I'll talk about it a little bit incase people don't know much about AP Carry reading this guide:

Greater Marks of Magic Penetration

These are great for getting through some of those pesky Magic Resist items. From the early game Null-Magic Mantle's, mid-game Negatron Cloak's, and late game Mercury's Treads and Abyssal Scepter's you are going to need as much MR Pen and reduction as possible if you want to have an impact late game like your team needs you to have. I'm sure you can get away with trying out Greater Mark of Hybrid Penetration or something, but the Marks of Magic Pen are pretty much universal from what I understand on AP Carries.

Greater Seals of Scaling Mana Regeneration

Sense the advent of Athene's Unholy Grail, a lot of people have backed off of this Seal for things like Greater Seal of Armor and Greater Seal of Scaling Health. Regardless, I don't use Athene's, so I use these to compensate for that. While I'm not going to argue how good Athene's Unholy Grail is, I will say that I have never had a Mana problem with my current build. Especially after you have Catalyst the Protector and Morellonomicon or better yet, when you are getting the Blue Buff that your Jungler should be feeding you. Whatever the case, this is up to you, if you don't like the scaling M.Regen Seals, dont be afraid to try the others listed above or whatever else you think might be better.

Hopefully that sums up the Runes that I picked and gives some good options for variations you may want to try out.

Skill Sequences

To give a quick heads up to people who are completely clueless about Orianna, she has a spherical Clock companion that is the heart of all of her abilities. Additionally, all of her Abilities (and Passive) benefit from Ability Power. In the Skill Sequence Chapter I'm going to briefly go over all her Skills first and toward the end talk about the basic rotations to use in fights. I should mention under every Skill chapter in every guide that I make in the future, that nothing will help you like actual experience in game with whatever Champion you are trying to get better at. Anyway, I will try my best to explain how Orianna works for anyone new to her:

This is Orianna's auto-attack Passive that prompts many players to go with her Hybrid build (AD/AS). It gives additional damage based off of level and AP. It also stacks per attack on the same target up to two times or so. If you are looking for a more technical explanation, just hover your mouse over the Icon above this paragraph. This is a great ability for early laning and late game stacked with the Spellsword and Lich Bane synergy mentioned earlier in the guide.

This is a skill shot with a range of 825. Orianna throws her ball at a target location which will deal a small area of effect damage by hitting or going through any enemy units on its way. The ball stays there until you reach around 1150 range (at which point it goes back to you instantly). The area of effect is very small, but it is an area of effect nevertheless. This is technically priority number one when it comes to leveling up Orianna's skills. However, I level this and Command: Dissonance hand and hand, so while it does reach level 5 first, you don't just max it out 9 as fast as you can.

This is a solid damage spell that can speed up teammates or slow down enemies. It's effect happens wherever the ball is. So in other words, if the ball is on you, Dissonance will occur under you. If you just did a Command: Attack, Dissonance will happen wherever the ball is currently. The area of effect is kind of medium to small sized, but not as small as Command: Attack's AoE is. Combined with your Command: Shockwave, this Skill is a major source of damage. One should also not underestimate the Utility on this skill. I am always speeding myself and/or teammates up around the map using Dissonance or slowing down enemies who would have almost for sure killed me if my Flash were down, etc...

Very useful spell and the heart of Orianna's support. Orianna throws her ball back to herself or to a nearby allied Champion (1100 range again) that gives a shield based off of level + Ability Power. It also deals damage if it travels through enemy units on the way. The ball also has some baseline stats on it that buff Magic Resistance and Armor for whoever the ball is on. There are certain situations where I start with Command: Protect as my first Skill. For example, if I'm going against someone who "counters" me, its going to be my first level. Some people are under the impression that Kassadin somehow counters Orianna. Those people have never used Command: Protect against him I guess.

This is Orianna's ultimate. It deals a lot of area of effect damage, but the greatest effect it has is probably its Black Hole effect. Basically, wherever Orianna's ball is, she can command it to do "Shockwave," which throws all enemy units that are in a medium-size vicinity around it (larger than the Dissonance AoE) in random directions within the area of effect. This disrupts any channeling abilties from Champions like Nunu, Master Yi, Fiddlesticks, Galio and so on. When you combine Command: Shockwave with Dissonance, the AoE damage is huge. Combine Orianna with Champions like Miss Fortune, Sona, Malphite, and Amumu for maximum potential damage.

As can be seen above and in the Ability Sequence, my Skill Order is something that I do quite differently than most people. I will level up Command: Attack and Command: Dissonance back and forth until they are both Level 2 before I get my first Command: Protect (followed by Command: Shockwave). This adds to Orianna's ability to dominate her lane early on. People don't really take into consideration how much damage Orianna can do at Level 4 so they get hit by one or two Command: Attack + Command: Dissonance and they start wondering where all their health went.

If things are going south and you are taking lots of focus fire from maybe top laning against a 1v2, you need to max out your Command: Protect for as long as you are in that lane. Dont even focus on doing damage (obviously only doing damage to protect your turret), just focus on staying alive.

Now, as far as Skill rotation goes, Orianna doesn't really have a "rotation." She has an order in which you should cast your spells, but after her first or second Command: Dissonance, Protect, and Shockwave, that is probably the last time this fight she will be using it. After which you just cast your Command: Attack as much as possible. So ya, she is pretty straight forward:

->

This is your basic, bread and butter combo, you Command: Attack your ball at the enemy and you pop Dissonance to deal some really nice AoE burst damage and slow them. Afterwards, you can throw the Command: Protect back to you to deal damage on the way back, but sometimes they just run away. Command: Attack has a smaller Cooldown than any other of Orianna's Abilities, so you will normally get multiple casts of this off per fight as opposed to only one or two of the others. As a matter of fact, Command: Attack is pretty spammable, so use it as much as you have to in a big fight, or while defending a turret, etc.

->->

This rotation is so good for the team fights. There really isn't much to it, landing the Skill shot where you want it is the hardest part. Speaking of that, if you don't land your Command: Attack where you want it, just be patient and try again. That may sound obvious but I have seen people whiff pretty bad with Orianna Ultimate's and Dissoance's. I'm not talking about only newbs either, I have seen pro's do it just as much. So line it up, and if you don't land it, just reposition and try it again.

As far as Command: Protect goes, it doesn't really go in some special spot of any rotation, you just use it smartly. Slam your Command: Attack at someone and if they start coming at you, just bust Command: Dissonance and return your ball with Command: Protect Lining them up between you and the Ball. Also, do not be selfish with the ball. If a team mate is about to die, help a brother out! Haha, but in all seriousness, I have saved sooo many people with a quick Shield and Speed up. Play smart.

Items

The first thing about the Items Chapter that I want to talk about, is actually the question of, "When should I go back to base and purchase Items?" This has always been a big question for me, even as far back as me playing DoTA on the WC3 engine, many many years ago. This is also an interesting question to answer, because for the most part, going back to base is situational. However, ideally, the first 3 times you return to base should be to purchase really solid leveling items (ie Philosopher's Stone, Catalyst the Protector, Tear of the Goddess, etc). Especially when you are soloing mid, you really don't want to go back just for the heck of it. So in other words don't over extend too much, just level up and get some last hits so that your trips back are completely worth while. I'm getting a little bit ahead of myself though. First I'll go over some ways to kick off your game.

This is pretty much the most generic but solid start in the game. You can buy this on any champion and do just fine. It allows you to be aggressive with your speed advantage and dodge early skill shots much easier than without boots. It is also nice for escaping those early ganks. I would definitely recommend this every game unless you just love the new flask starts people are going. I don't really care for the Crystalline Flask, but I see a lot of the pro players going it, so I'm not going to knock it.

***RoA vs FC is basically depending on how things are going in the game and how ganky the other team is looking. Any left over gold should be contributed to Pots and Wards.

Now sometimes, early game, you are going to get ganked or you absolutely have to go back to base to keep from dying. When this happens, I would recommend buying a few Health Potions and a Sight Ward over buying a lower tier of your next item without any money left for Pots or Wards. Obviously, if you were like 150 gold off from the next item and you can afford the lower tier of that item AND the Pots/Wards, then go ahead and buy that. I can't stress enough how important Wards are to you and your teams survivability.

NOTE: Some pro's like to rush Rabadon's Deathcap, so their first item they buy on their first back, will be a Needlessly Large Rod and so forth from there. It's not my style, but I can't say its not fun to do lol.

The Sorcerer's Shoes and Void Staff are basically there to help punch through some of the Magic Resistance on the other team, they are pretty standard among all AP Carries. O, and the Void Staff has some nice AP on it as well. The Rod of Ages is extremely important for Orianna. It offers Health, Mana, Ability Power, and a sick ability on leveling. I honestly think its one of the most cost effective items in the game. Some friends of mine say that I go a pretty late Rabadon's Deathcap. I don't think I get it that late and I definitely don't see a lack of damage output, but if you need an earlier Rabadon's, hit it up.

Why is Morellonomicon core?

Morellonomicon is where my guide differs from most others as far as the core build goes. However, it is literally the perfect item for Orianna. The 20% cooldown reduction combined with the Masteries and Glyphs puts me right at 31% CDR. I'm sure some people are thinking, "Well, the cap is 40%, so who cares?" Those people are correct, but I'm literally only an Elixir and Blue buff away from the cap. On top of that, Morello's gives me 75 Ability power to help power my Rabadon's. Last but not least, the Evil Tome gives me an additional 12 mana per 5. It seems like other guides will toss the Sorcerer's Shoes and grab the Ionian Boots of Lucidity and replace the Morello's with an Archangel's Staff or Rylai's Crystal Scepter. I guess its preference, but I must say, Command: Dissonance is more than enough of a slow and Archangel's takes quite a bit of time to charge up for Orianna (compared to Urgot, Ezreal, Karthus, Nidalee, etc...). So at the end of the day it all depends on the player, but I suggest trying Morello's if you haven't already.

Some optional/situational Items for you to consider:

--Becomes-> --Becomes-> --Becomes-> --Becomes->

Basically, all I have done here is give some quick fixes for you to replace items in the core build to help against certain matchups. For example, if they have a Veigar on their team, I would suggest grabbing the Mercury's Treads and Banshee's Veil over the Sorcerer's Shoes and Rod of Ages. Unfortunately, I don't have an option for replacing the Rabadon's Deathcap, because there is no replacement for this Item on any AP carry.

Choosing a sixth Item

Now as far your last item goes, Lich Bane is where it's at. I almost always go Lich bane as my sixth item. Lich Bane gives you additional movement speed, Magic Resistance, Mana, Ability Power, and a Proc every three seconds that not only helps you obliterate other Champions (500+ additional damage a proc easy), but also Towers and Inhibitors. That is actually a pretty big deal late game.

These Items are all really solid on Orianna. I will admit that lately, I have been leaning more towards Zhonya's Hourglass for that invulnerability, but I go back and forward between that and Lich Bane. I have also seen some people use the Will of the Ancients or Liandry's Torment. I think against a team that has good pokes (with champions like Nidalee, Ezreal, Kog'Maw, etc..) either of these items could be pretty useful. Oh and obviously, a good ult can give you quite a bit of life back if you go WotA lol.

***Update (02/15/2013): About a patch ago now (right before 3.02), the Seeker's Armguard was released as one of the new sub-items for Zhonya's Hourglass. I've always been big on cost efficient Items, and I'm pretty sure this is a good one. I will be doing some testing with this item for Orianna in Ranked games to see how well it flows with her. I'll keep you guys updated every chance I get.

Creeping / Laning

Orianna is really good at farming creeps/minions. It all revolves around her basic combo of Command: Attack + Command: Dissonance (I usually add in the Command: Protect at lower levels). I wouldn't suggest starting her off as a Jungler by any means, but at level 5+ she can really start to obliterate the jungles when your lane is pushed in to far.

A really cool trick to know about Orianna, is that she is amazing at stealing the Dragon when you are from the bottom left spawn location and Baron if you are from the top right spawn location. So, in other words, have both of them warded as much as possible. When you see the other team going to kill either of them, go to the jungle behind the respective Neutral creep, throw your Command: Attack in when it gets low and blast your Command: Shockwave + Command: Dissonance to attempt to steal the creeps buff/gold and you may even grab a kill in the process. I have stolen the Dragon once and Baron twice now :D.

So here is a little diagram I made to give a better idea of how it works. If your handy dandy ward placement has informed you that an enemy team/player is trying to take Baron/Dragon, you can move to the BLACK circle location, which is in the jungle directly behind the respective neutral creep (the neutral creep is RED). Orianna can then snipe it and steal the buff/money if timed perfectly. Ya every now and then you will whiff, but its all good.

Another, cool trick to know, is once you are at Level 4 Command: Attack and Level 4 Command: Dissonance, you can kill any number of the Caster laning minions at a time in the Attack + Dissonance area of effect. This helps sooo much once you start late game laning/creep farming. It is the other reason that I max out my Command: Attack + Command: Dissonance so quickly.

Summary

I will always put results in my summary/concluding paragraph. Just note, that it is not to brag or anything of that sort. It is merely there to show the consistency and strength of the build.

Ranked Play:

Normal Play:

I hope it helped it out or was insightful in some way. If you have any question, comments, suggestions, etc.. please don't be afraid to leave it in Discussion or private message me. Thank you for taking the time to read my guide.

League of Legends is a team based, real time strategy game set in a mythical world of swords & magic where epic battles decide the fate of mystical nations. Game players take on the role of a Summoner who conjures and controls champions to fight for them at the Institute of War. During game play champions gain experience and items to enhance their skills and abilities. How players develop and play their champions can be the difference between a crushing defeat or a glorious victory!